There were many shares of information that did not engage readers, so I did not mention them. What was the most interesting games earnings news story not mentioned here, especially those that pertain to royalties and/or damages?

So, during a recent trip to Alabama for the 2016 Sports and Entertainment Symposium (SES), I was surprised to learn that one of the beneficiaries of runaway productions has been Birmingham and it's rapidly growing post-production house, Red Sky Studios.

Should you have any questions about what Alabama production or post-production costs may qualify for Alabama subsidies and/or tax incentives, I met an accountant who audits production expenses to see whether they comply with the state law(s). His name is Mark Underhill, CPA with Barfield, Murphy, Shank and Smith and I imagine he should be able to consult with you to answer your questions and ensure you or your client are complying with the relevant legislation.

Alabama's tax incentives and its growing track record of work (e.g., the visual effects in the movie Woodlawn, for example) are definitely driving expansion at Red Sky Studios, which is growing beyond Birmingham, Alabama;
Much of Red Sky Studios' work is performed on-site but some aspects are outsourced to foreign workers.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

1. 2015 Year-In-Review: Live Music Preliminary numbers suggest that the largest component of the music industry may have continued its strong run in 2015, perhaps increasing by as much as 10% if preliminary reports are any indication.

Speaking of the NMPA, 2015 was the end of an era for the organization, which sold its mechanical licensing and collection arm - The Harry Fox Agency - to SESAC, a performance rights organization which is not directly subject to the consent decrees under which ASCAP and BMI operate.

See SESAC CEO John Josephson's vision for expansion in this article and this video. (The latter video is free to AIMP members, in which AIMP lunch attendees questioned Spotify's PDF statement formats to payees of non-HFA clients, which are inordinately expensive to process. Also, certain audience members expressed dismay over the appearance of a conflict in HFA's audit of Spotify on behalf of HFA clients who pay HFA an 11.5% commission, in light of the fact that Spotify is itself HFA's client).SESAC is but one example of the evolution in the music publishing rights marketplace. As another example, Kobalt, which has expanded into performance royalty collection, made a similar move in 2015, acquiring from Sindee Levin her US mechanical collection society, AMRA, a small HFA competitor.

In terms of judicial activity, some of the key music publishing cases this year include: